The Origin of Jack
by Dr. Sugar
Summary: Have you ever wondered how Barbossa found Jack the Monkey? A cute one-shot to how the captain of the Black Pearl met our favorite primate.


Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. But if I did; I would kick off my shoes, jump onto my desk, and do my happy dance. This is my first fic written.

The air was moist and humid on the small island a few miles south of Isla de Muerta. The island was home to all sorts of creatures; wild macaws with bright feathers, slow moving lizards with flicking tongues, thousands of insects, but mostly monkeys. There was a large colony of them living in the forest just on the edge of the island. Hundreds of these primates would swing through the trees while chattering and playing with each other.

One baby, however, stayed away from the rest. He was the runt of the group and was ignored by the younger monkeys. He sat on the ground by himself eating a large mango that was nearly as big as his head.

He continued to munch away, when he suddenly smelled something. It was a new smell. It wasn't a predator, but it smelled similar to the colony. Dropping the mango, the little monkey scampered toward the scent. As he ran farther away from the colony, he could hear strange sounds coming from the shore. The baby finally got to the edge of the forest and hid behind a large bush. He saw people walking across the beach carrying crates and barrels. All of them were heading toward the oasis, where the colony would go to drink. They were being led by a man with a big hat and coat on.

"This way, gents!" he would shout to the others.

The monkey was about to follow the group, when a large ball suddenly rolled in front of him. He picked it up and began to chew on it. It tasted like wood. Gnawing on the ball, he started to hear voices.

"It's gotta be here somewhere!"

"I think I saw it roll thata way."

The baby heard the bushes rustle. The voices were growing louder.

"How many times have I told ya, Rags, about yer eye," said a gruff sounding voice.

"It ain't me fault, it just popped out!" said the other.

The bushes were pulled back and the monkey was now face to face with two strange looking men. One was short and stocky and the other was tall and lanky with a hole in his face. All three of them starred at each other.

The lanky man became excited. "Oi look," he said, "he's got me eye!" He was about to reach down and grab it from the monkey, but the shorter one smacked him on the head.

"Are ya barking mad?!" he said. "Ya scare him like that and he'll go and run off. We gotta let him come ta us."

The shorter man knelt down very slowly while still keeping his eyes on the wooden ball. The other one followed suit.

"Come're boy," the gruff one said quietly. He tapped the ground and began to whistle. The baby monkey inched cautiously toward them. "That's it," he said. "Come on."

Eventually, the young primate was only a foot away from the two pirates. He was still clutching the ball in his little hands.

The lanky man was becoming very agitated. "Just grab it, its right there!" he moaned.

His friend gave him a scornful look. "Wait a bit. I've almost got it," he hissed.

"I don't care, I want me eye now!" the lanky man said and lunged at the monkey.

The baby jumped and sprinted between the men, still holding his precious treasure. He ran to the beach and followed the footprints in the sand.

"Thief!" a voice shouted in the distance. "He's got me eye, come back."

The monkey looked behind him and saw the two pirates chasing after him. He kept running until he was at the oasis. There, he was met by dozens of scruffy men gathering fruit and water. The men saw him and started to chase him around the crates. He dodged and dived around them- screeching the whole time. One man with a smoking beard cornered him, but the baby leaped onto a barrel and knocked it over. Fruit was flying everywhere.

Scrambling past a pirate with blond dreadlocks, the monkey thought he had found an escape. There were no pirates by the water, so he ran toward it. Unfortunately, someone grabbed him before he could escape. He was caught! Slowly, the baby was held up by the scruff of his neck and was turned to see his captor. It was their leader, the one with red hair and a green hat. The man's eyes narrowed as he looked at the primate.

"What do we have here, lads?" he asked with a smirk.

Footsteps could be heard coming close. The red-haired man turned his head and saw two of his crewmen running toward him. The lanky one reached him first. He was panting loudly and was holding a stitch in his side.

"That…that thief stole…me eye," he said, pointing his finger at the monkey.

The leader looked down and saw that the baby had the eye in his tiny paws. He reached over and instead of taking the ball; he began to stroke the monkey's head. Immediately, his eyes became droopy and his body relaxed. The wooden ball fell from his paws and landed in the captain's open hand. He held it between his fingers and studied it. He then tossed it to the lanky man, who fumbled with the eye until he finally put it back in its proper place.

"Thank-ya sir," he mumbled nervously.

The captain turned his attention back to the monkey. He slowly stroked its fur with his thumb. The monkey looked into the captain's eyes and began to reach for the hair that was growing on his chin. He picked through the scraggly beard while searching for bugs and insects. After awhile, he gave up and decided to move on to the hair that was growing by his ears. The man didn't stop him; but gave a bemused look as the monkey decided to perch himself on his shoulders. He reached for the monkey again and gently patted him on the head.

"I could us an accomplice these days," he said. He turned toward the men. "Well gents, should we keep him?"

The pirates weren't entirely sure what to say. The monkey was the one that had caused the huge mess that they were standing in; however, they could see that their captain had taken a liking to the little beast, so they had no choice but to agree. The lanky man starred sullenly at the monkey, then left to go look for his friend. The red-haired man laughed and turned back to the baby.

"We'll call ye, Jack," he said, "after our dearly departed captain."

Everyone chuckled at the reminder of their "lost" former captain. The men started to clean up the fruit and refilled the barrels with water. The captain stood on a small hill and watched them, still stroking Jack. The monkey sat on the man's shoulders and watched the men too. Soon, everything was collected, and they all started to head back to the beach. They piled the crates into rowboats as the tide started to roll in.

Jack turned to look at the forest that used to be his home. He would miss living in the jungle, but not as much as he would miss his new friend. The captain climbed into the rowboat and Jack held tightly to his shoulders; happy at last that he would never be alone again.

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